Alicia:

Solution focused 1st session outline:

Joining Stage: Names and ages of everyone who lives with client(s) and their work/school info

Any previous experience with therapy? If so, what was helpful or not helpful? If no, what do you expect therapy to be?

Problem definition: What prompted call to make appointment? or How can we be of assistance today?

Do you have an idea of how many sessions you will need? Why?

What has gotten better since you called?

What has been tried to solve problem? What advice has been given by family and friends?

Goal: What do you want different as a result of coming here?
Miracle question: Suppose that as you are sleeping tonight a miracle happens. The miracle is that the problem which brought you here today is solved. Only you don’t know that it is solved because you are asleep. What difference will you notice tomorrow morning that will tell you a miracle happened? What else will you notice?

Ask questions to elicit a well-formed goal (small, concrete, beginning of something, presence of something, doing)






Scaling questions: on a scale of I to 10 with 1 being that the problem is as bad as it ever has been and 10 being that the miracles has happened, how would you rate your situation:
ω Today
ω When you called for the appointment
ω When you are ready to end counseling




Exceptions:
Elicit: Are there times the miracle is happening, even a little?
Amplify: Tell me more; include perspective of others
Reinforce:- How did you make the happen; are exceptions deliberate or spontaneous?
Start again: What else?
- If client can not identify miracle, are there times when the problem is a little less
- If no exceptions, ask coping questions, e.g., How have you kept going?


Team Message:

Compliments:









Bridging statement:




Tasks:
Factors to Consider:
♣ Visitor, complainant, or customer relationship?
♣ Able to state well-defined goal?
♣ Able to describe miracle?
♣ Able to describe exceptions? Are they deliberate?